The research company Frank RG has presented a rating of the best banks for premium clients. According to her methodology, these are people with monthly income from 200 thousand rubles and funds from 4 million.
A total of 13 banks participated in the study, but the company does not announce the results of other participants. “We believe that it is important to understand who is the best and focus on leaders, and we provide the results of other banks directly to them,” said Lyubov Prokopova, head of the study, chief expert of Frank Research Group in the Affluent & Private Banking segments.
The rating was calculated on the basis of ratings in seven categories: reliability, service organization, convenience of remote service, etc. An important parameter for wealthy clients, according to the study, is also the convenience of servicing abroad and investment services.
In addition, Frank RG analysts named leaders in five separate areas. “The best was the bank with the most balanced offer in all respects, but there are banks that excelled only in one category out of seven,” explains Prokopova. For example, Alfa-Bank became the best in remote banking. Bank "Opening" - best deals for non-banking privileges, which include, for example, concierge service or access to airport business lounges. Otkritie also provides the best banking products premium clients. "At the bank good rates on deposits, card offer and currency conversion conditions, while none of the top five banks received the highest rating in this criterion,” notes Frank RG expert.
Unlike last year's rating, VTB24 did not enter the top five. The bank is changing its strategy for working with this category of clients, the premium service model in the bank is undergoing quite serious changes, the press service of VTB24 said in response to a request from RBC.
All other leaders were present in the top 5 last year (then fifth place was taken by two banks - Sberbank and Citibank). “Although other banks are also actively developing premium services, banks that have been doing this for a long time also do not stand still, and it is increasingly difficult for new players to catch up with the leaders,” says Prokopova.
Of the 100 largest banks that Frank RG analysts invited to take part in the study, 13 responded. The researchers conducted expert interviews with heads of Premium Banking divisions, and interviewed more than 3,000 clients in the premium segment. According to the research methodology, these are clients with a monthly income of 200 thousand rubles. and an amount of at least 4 million rubles. on accounts. Based on the survey, seven categories were formed and ranked by importance, according to which bonus programs in banks were evaluated. Customers named reliability as the most important, service and convenience of remote servicing came second, and products and services offered by the bank ranked third.
Analysts also organized 41 mystery shopping visits to branches and opened 13 premium banking packages. The reliability of banks was determined by two parameters: the presence of a bank in the list of systemically important banks and based on the Forbes rating of banks' reliability. The convenience of remote maintenance was evaluated by the Usability Factory company. For each category, banks were rated from A (best) to D (worst).
Demand for premium programs is growing
Wealthy clients are important to banks because they have a relatively stable income and savings, says Lyubov Prokopova. Vitaly Rogovoi, Head of the Wealthy Clients Department at Promsvyazbank, agrees with her: up to 30% of liabilities fall on Promsvyazbank's Orange Premium Club clients. At the same time, the number of wealthy clients is small - about 5% of the number of retail clients, says Kirill Matveev, head of Raiffeisenbank's premium customer service department.
Wealthy clientele has been growing among Russian banks over the past year and a half - due to changes in tax legislation Russians close accounts abroad and transfer their savings to Russia, says Anton Tolmachev, head of the investment department at UFG Wealth Management. At the same time, people do not fully trust banks and are reluctant to carry money there, he emphasizes.
Those who still decide on this are now more and more interested in investments, says Vitaly Rogovoy. “If earlier a foreign currency deposit was enough for a premium depositor, now, when the rates are not higher than 1%, many clients have a demand for foreign currency investment instruments,” says Kirill Matveev.
How to choose the best of the best
Only the most reliable banks should be trusted with funds, says Vladimir Savenok, founder of the Personal Capital consulting group. “It is difficult to understand how reliable a bank is, so it is better for both premium clients and everyone else to go to largest banks with state participation,” the expert is categorical. Anton Tolmachev says that in addition to banks with state participation, subsidiaries of Western banks are also stable. “They have a diversified business model, and when Western banks come to Russia, they strictly limit their risks, unlike ordinary Russian banks,” he explains.
And yet a Western bank, despite having to deal with tax office, is an ideal choice when it comes not only to reliability, but also to income, Tolmachev believes. "Volume Russian market dollar bonds - $140 billion, and the US market - $18 trillion. It is clear that a wide range of tools Russian bank will not be able to provide,” he explains. Moreover, low-risk investments and investments in bonds are suitable for wealthy clients, Tolmachev says.
Premium banking services, or Premium Banking, is a relatively new concept for the Russian market banking services. The pioneer of the Russian premium banking market is Citibank, which introduced the Citigold premium program to Russian customers in 2002. In 2009–2011, specialized bonus programs appeared on the market in banks with foreign participation- Raiffeisenbank and UniCredit Bank, then in the largest and most advanced private Russian bank - Alfa-Bank. Later, the largest banks with state participation - Sberbank and VTB24 - presented their bonus programs. Since 2014, competition in the premium service market has become tougher: within strategic planning the development of the premium segment is becoming a priority in an increasing number of banks. In 2014-2015, a record number of bonus programs entered the market: they were launched by FC Otkritie, Promsvyazbank, Rosbank, Rosselkhozbank, Bank St. Petersburg, etc. In the face of growing competition, previously launched bonus programs also underwent significant changes . Due to the fact that the premium service from the largest players banking market already formed, the market is gradually entering the stage of progressive stabilization, and more and more banks declare that they do not set themselves the task of increasing the client base. The main priority is to improve the quality of service for current customers. The market shares of premium service market participants are assigned to certain players, and for smaller banks, the successful launch of a premium service program is becoming increasingly difficult.
Source: Frank Research Group
Affluent Segment Definition
Under the Affluent segment in the Russian market, banks mean customers with total account balances from 1–4 million rubles, as well as customers with a monthly income of 250 thousand rubles in Moscow and 150 thousand rubles in the regions. At the same time, the analysis of clients by income and balances is carried out in parallel, that is, even if the client does not have funds in bank accounts, he can be attributed to the Affluent segment only by the level of his income. “If we see that a client has monthly receipts on the card of more than 250 thousand rubles, then we are interested in him, because, perhaps, he has savings in some other bank, and we want his savings to be with us”, - one of the representatives of banks shared his approach with us. Perhaps there really are savings, or perhaps they are not, but the bank is already ready to offer the client a premium in service and take on additional costs. Thus, in the Russian market, not only customers who are ready to deposit 2-3 million rubles, but also those clients who hold much smaller amounts on current and card accounts(300 thousand - 750 thousand rubles), fulfill certain requirements for turnover on the card (from 20 thousand rubles per month, combined with small account balances - up to 100 thousand rubles per month), receive loans in the amount of 2-3 million rubles or simply open a premium card.
Due to the fact that the premium banking market in Russia is quite young, many banks are only at the stage of forming their own understanding of the Affluent segment and how to build premium banking services. The main goal-setting is often the development of premium banking services in the sense of increasing the market share, while a deep analysis of the income and expense components of the segment's business is not carried out. At the same time, the situation will change dramatically: as the key rate of the Central Bank decreases, the level of earnings of banks on their balances should decrease, which will limit the ability of banks to provide additional benefits a significant number of clients.
Affluent vs Emerging Affluent
As the premium service market matures, more and more banks will take the path of tightening the principles of customer segmentation. Banks will separate into separate categories those customers who can really qualify for premium banking services, and those who can only be premium customers in the future.
For example, during a certain period of labor activity the client begins to receive a fairly high income, shows good turnover on the card, arranges a mortgage. Today, for many banks, such a client already falls into the premium service channel. However, from the point of view life cycle it does not have savings and, on closer examination, should fall into the Emerging Affluent segment, which precedes the Affluent segment, which primarily implies the availability of free funds that the bank can manage as part of premium banking services. In this case, accounting for card turnover, maintaining card balances, and having a mortgage from a certain amount will only be indicators that in the future, as savings grow, the client can fully move into the Affluent target segment. And since, according to statistics, the annual income of a client in the Emerging Affluent segment, as a rule, steadily increases and at some point the client naturally "grows" to premium service, it is important for the bank not to lose this client. Often, it is the fear of losing a promising client that forces banks to offer premium services now, but only the level of target profitability can help banks decide where it is worth “cultivating” an Emerging Affluent client - within the framework of premium services or beyond.
Usually, the category of privileged cards includes plastic such as Platinum, Word Elite, and Infinite (translated from English - "limitless"). According to a survey of several banks, cardholders with the highest status are from 1% to 10% of customers. According to Konstantin Gringloz, head of the retail services department of Avangard Bank, about 1% of all bank customers have MasterCard Elite, Visa Infinite and Visa Signature. Bank Saint Petersburg shared detailed statistics: about 92% of wealthy clients have cards Visa Platinum, about 8% - MC Word Elite and less than 1% - Visa Infinite.
What's included?
Banks try to please even the most capricious customers. As a rule, the following types of services are included in the cost of service:
- personal manager (will answer all questions about banking services, help choose products);
- travel insurance policy (valid both in Russia and abroad - it protects up to several million dollars);
- concierge service (will help to book theater tickets, arrange a corporate party or book a yacht in Monte Carlo for the weekend);
- increased miles on co-branded cards (will allow you to save up for an award ticket almost twice as fast);
- additional card Priority Pass(access to airport VIP lounges (often for a small additional fee));
- increased cashback and interest on the balance (will allow you to earn more on large amounts).
Also, premium cards provide discounts on accommodation in expensive hotels, car rental, master classes, branded shoes and clothes, jewelry, furniture, etc.
Usually in the product description you can see an even larger set of features, but some of them are already provided for free, even for customers with payroll cards. For example, wealthy people are attracted by the opportunity contactless payment shopping or internet banking. “For some of the clients this is an additional service, for others it is basic services. As a rule, the product descriptions indicate all available options so that the client can get an idea of what set of services he pays for, and what additional features are available to him. Especially if we are talking about premium customers who always expect to see product content that matches their status,” explains Natalia Rozenberg, Head of Non-Credit Products and Remote Services at Moscow credit bank.
Who's better?
According to a study by Sravni.ru, Russian Standard Bank offers the largest set of options for wealthy clients. His Visa Infinite card costs 50 thousand rubles. in year. For this money, the holder receives free admission to the VIP lounges of airports (for other banks, this service costs 27 US dollars), insurance for trains in Russia and abroad with maximum limit payouts up to $1 million, 2% cashback on all purchases, and 7% income from the account balance. The money paid for the card will pay off, for example, with payments in the amount of 2.5 million rubles. or when stored on the account 714.3 thousand rubles.
Master Card world black Edition from the Moscow Credit Bank will bring 7% of income to the positive balance, and you will have to pay 26% on the loan. Plastic will pay off with a minimum balance of 714.3 thousand rubles. during a year. If there is more, then it will be possible to earn more on this.
On the third place Visa card Infinite Bank Avangard. It comes with $1 million insurance, a Priority Pass card with the ability to visit airport VIP lounges with family and colleagues (up to 10 people), as well as many discounts for purchases and bookings. The card will pay off, for example, at the expense of a discount when booking a Mercedes Clase V on new year holidays in Barcelona (125.5 thousand rubles).
It is worth noting that the payback of the card is a conditional thing, since some customers can make up for the fee with cashbacks or expensive purchases, while others need a personal manager who will save valuable time for wealthy people. For example, many consumers are willing to pay 10 thousand rubles. for a Sberbank card only in order not to stand in lines, but to receive service in comfortable conditions.
Top 10 cards for VIP clients
| 1 |
Conditional payback: with purchases of 2.5 million rubles. or during storage 714.3 thousand rubles. during a year. |
|
| 2 |
Service cost: 50,000 rubles. |
Conditional payback: in storage 714.3 thousand rubles. during a year. |
| 3 |
|
Conditional payback: when booking a Mercedes Clase V for the New Year holidays in Barcelona (the cost of booking is 125.5 thousand rubles). |
| 4 |
Service cost: 30,000 rubles. |
Conditional payback: when stored on an account from 600 thousand rubles. within a year or when buying gadgets for 600 thousand rubles. in Svyaznoy stores. |
| 5 |
Service cost: 30,000 rubles. |
Conditional payback: when paying for services in the "New Polyclinic" in the amount of 300 thousand rubles. |
| 6 |
Maintenance cost: 21750 rubles. |
Conditional payback: when buying jewelry in Adamas stores in the amount of 310 thousand rubles. |
| 7 |
|
Conditional payback: for purchases in the amount of 4 million rubles. |
| 8 |
Maintenance cost: 20,000 rubles. |
Conditional payback: saving for a Moscow-Sochi-Moscow ticket will require purchases of 388.5 thousand rubles. (for ordinary cards - 760 thousand rubles). |
| 9 |
Service cost: 15,000 rubles. or 0 rub. with the amount of purchases from 1 million rubles. in a year. |
Conditional benefit: the cost of service costs less than the insurance policies issued to the card. |
| 10 |
Service cost: 10,000 rubles. |
Conditional benefit: the service pays off when booking 7 nights at the All-Suites Spa Hotel Pokrovka Moscow. |
Paphos aside
As you can see, cards have many advantages, for which in some cases you can not overpay. For example, if a wealthy person simply has large balances on his card account, then you can pick up a regular card with maximum accrual percent. When a lot of purchases are made on the card, you can earn on this with the help of cards with increased cashback. If there are many trips, then it is better to choose a card with increased miles, free insurance and access to airport VIP lounges.
Considered credit and debit cards top 100 banks by assets as of November 1, 2015. In the rating, the cards were sorted by the cost of service and the maximum possible set of options that ordinary cards do not have.
In addition to the standard service, banks actively offer VIP services. This segment is one of the most profitable, but the principles of work differ from the standard ones. The best service, the most qualified employees, cozy atmosphere. What does premium banking include and how much does it cost a client?
What is VIP?
Under premium service it implies an individual approach to the client, providing increased comfort in communication, access to unique products. V this case the bank takes on the role of financial assistant. Participants in such programs receive all standard services, but for more favorable conditions: premium bank cards, personal manager and extraordinary service.
Such a service involves large costs for the organization of work. Accordingly, the selection of potential customers is tougher.
How to get premium banking services?
The conditions for participation in the program are different for each institution. Mainly:
- the presence of a deposit in the amount of 1 million rubles;
- purchase of luxury banking products;
- work in the field of investments: with mutual funds, precious metals, OFBU, etc.
Premium banking services are intended primarily for wealthy people who value their time: athletes, politicians, top managers, executives, representatives of show business, etc.
Package of services
Premium banking goes far beyond the standard. Its goal is to provide the client with a personal financial assistant who would serve the client quickly and very efficiently. At the forefront is the speed of resolving the issue, which should be combined with comfort and a personal approach. The range of services includes:
- identifying needs for investment activity and capital growth.
- Concierge services - round-the-clock access for customers to services for booking tickets, hotels, cars, booking a table in a restaurant, etc.
- Discount programs for non-cash payments.
- Service with increased comfort. In hotels and airports, special rooms are allocated where you can relax, eat and take a shower.
- Fast (re)issuance of the card. If a customer loses his or her abroad payment instrument, it will be enough for him to simply inform his manager about this, and the order for the design of a new plastic will go to work.
- Accompanying services: art banking for the evaluation of art objects, advice on taxation, currency laws, legal support anywhere in the world.
Issue price
Let's compare high-quality tariffs in two state-owned banks.
To participate in the bonus program at VTB24, one of the following conditions must be met:
- Open a deposit or invest 15 million rubles.
- Receive a salary of 100 thousand rubles. per month.
- Get a platinum card.
Sberbank has a lower entry threshold:
- Open a deposit or invest 4 million rubles.
- Get an elite platinum card.
- Buy shares for the amount of 200 million rubles.
Service list | "VTB 24" | Sberbank |
Standard Services | ||
Personal hotline | ||
Personal manager | ||
Assistance in investing funds | ||
Increased deposit rates | ||
preferential exchange rate | ||
Personal concierge service | ||
Organization of non-banking services (assessment of art objects, etc.) | ||
Access to bank vaults | ||
Receipt exchange rates from the exchange |
Comparison of conditions
For premium service, each client selects for himself. But if we compare the conditions of the two public institutions, then Sberbank has a lower entry threshold, but fewer services provided. financial institution focuses on foreign exchange transactions.
In Sberbank, there are several managers per consultant. Therefore, the queue in the service halls can not be avoided.
Premium banking services at VTB24 appeared earlier than at Sberbank, and have already improved significantly. Managers undergo special training and periodic certification for knowledge of products and compliance with the position. The financial institution relies on a concierge service popular in Europe. But in fact, the need for it fades into the background. Why call a consultant with a request to order a taxi, if you can download mobile app and call the car in one click?
Market situation
Applies to all areas of life, including banking. In the retail segment, 70-80% of the bank's income comes from 5-10% of wealthy clients. That is, it is more profitable to attract one secured depositor than a hundred small ones. This becomes clear if you compare the annual service rates. premium cards: 3000 rub. against 900 rubles. on ordinary loans. But "dear" clients are ready to invest only in large banks. Therefore, financial institutions are switching to the middle class, also assigning it the status of VIP. V international practice premium banking services begin with an investment of $1 million. Medium-sized Russian banks have lowered this threshold to 3 million rubles.
A new trend in the market is testing banking services before buying them. Clients of Gazprombank and UniCredit can get all the privileges of the Private segment before making a decision to invest a large amount. Let us consider in more detail how this scheme operates in Sberbank. The first two months from the date of execution of the contract, the service fee is not debited, provided that the client does not refuse the service during its “testing”. Then a new condition comes into force. If the total account balance at the end of the month is more than 2.5 million rubles, then the client receives a full set of services free of charge.
Premium customers account for a substantial share of many banks' profits. But not in every credit organization the client dares to bring a large sum. Frank RG conducted research and found out how Russian banks trusted by wealthy clients.
The research company Frank RG has published an annual rating of Russian banks with the best service in the premium segment - Premium Banking Award 2016. Of the 100 largest banks that were invited to participate in the study, 13 responded. Of these, five leading banks in servicing premium clients were selected. The company does not announce the results of other participants.
Clients with a monthly income of 200 thousand rubles or more were taken into account. and an amount of at least 4 million rubles. on accounts. Based on the survey, seven categories of evaluation of bonus programs in banks were formed and ranked by importance. Clients named reliability as the most important, followed by service, convenience of remote servicing, products and services offered by the bank, non-banking privileges, convenience of servicing abroad and investment services.
In order to evaluate banks according to these criteria, Frank RG analysts conducted expert interviews with the heads of the banks' premium divisions, and interviewed more than 3,000 customers in the premium segment. Analysts also organized 41 visits to branches by "mystery shoppers" and opened 13 packages of premium banking services.
The reliability of banks was determined by two parameters: the presence of a bank in the list of systemically important banks and based on the Forbes rating of banks' reliability. The convenience of remote maintenance was evaluated by the Usability Factory company.
Top 5 leading banks in premium services
There are no newcomers in the final five, it is becoming more and more difficult for new players to break into this segment. “Although other banks are also actively developing premium services, banks that have been doing this for a long time also do not stand still, and it is increasingly difficult for new players to catch up with the leaders,” said Lyubov Prokopova, head of research, chief expert at Frank RG.
Table 1 "Top 5 leading banks in premium services"
|
Bank |
Reliability |
Service |
Remote |
Banking |
Non-banking |
Service |
Investment |
|
|
Raffeisenbank |
||||||||
|
Alfa Bank |
||||||||
|
Promsvyazbank |
||||||||
|
Citibank |
||||||||
|
Sberbank |
Data: Frank RG
The leading banks in five separate areas were also named. " The best was the bank with the most balanced offer in all respects, but there are banks that did particularly well in only one category out of seven”, explains Prokopova.
« For example, Alfa-Bank became the best in remote banking. Otkritie Bank has the best offers for non-banking privileges, which include, for example, a concierge service or access to airport business lounges. Otkritie also provides the best banking products to premium customers. “The bank has good deposit rates, card offer and currency conversion conditions, while none of the top five banks received the highest rating in this criterion”, — says the expert Frank RG.
Russian Standard Bank was awarded in the Unique Card Offer category, Citibank was awarded the Best Investment Proposal.
Table 2 “Banks-winners in certain categories premium service"
Data: Frank RG
Demand for premium programs
Most of the major banks offer affluent customer service programs: this category is very important because these are faces from stable income and large savings. This segment should not be neglected; they bring significant income to banks, despite a small share of the total number of customers.
For example, customers of Promsvyazbank's Orange Premium Club premium program account for up to 30% of liabilities, Vitaly Rogovoy, head of Promsvyazbank's wealthy clients department, told RBC.
At the same time, the number of wealthy clients in most banks is small. For example, in Raiffeisenbank - about 5% of the number of retail clients, Kirill Matveev, head of Raiffeisenbank's premium customer service department, told the publication.
The segment of wealthy clients in Russia in last years increased. The tax breaks of the authorities contributed to this: due to changes in legislation, Russians close accounts abroad and transfer their savings to Russia, Anton Tolmachev, head of the investment department at UFG Wealth Management, told RBC.
Although wealthy Russians do not fully trust banks and are reluctant to bring money there, Tolmachev stressed. Those who still decide on this are now more and more interested in investments, says Vitaly Rogovoy. “If earlier a foreign currency deposit was enough for a premium depositor, now, when the rates are not higher than 1%, many clients have a demand for foreign currency investment instruments,” says Kirill Matveev.
How to choose a bank for premium banking
Only the most reliable banks should be trusted with funds, Vladimir Savenok, founder of the Personal Capital consulting group, explained to RBC. “It is difficult to understand how reliable a bank is, therefore it is better for both premium clients and everyone else to go to the largest banks with state participation,” the expert is categorical.
Anton Tolmachev says that in addition to banks with state participation, subsidiaries of Western banks are also stable. “They have a diversified business model, and when Western banks come to Russia, they strictly limit their risks, unlike ordinary Russian banks,” he said.
If not only reliability is important, but also income, then it is worth taking a closer look at Western banks, Tolmachev believes. " The volume of the Russian dollar bond market is $140 billion, and the US market is $18 trillion. It is clear that a Russian bank will not be able to provide a wide range of instruments', he explains.
